-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An official in Inner Mongolia is disputing an Amnesty International report that parts of the region are under martial law .

`` We did not enforce martial law . Everything is normal , '' said Chao Lumen , an official with the information department of Xilingol prefecture .

In the report released Friday , Amnesty International detailed protests in and around the city of Xilinhot , the prefecture 's seat of government .

`` Nothing happened here . There were no demonstrations or protests , '' Chao said Monday .

The Amnesty report said Chinese authorities declared martial law in some parts of the autonomous region in an apparent response to days of protests .

The region has long been the scene of ethnic tension between Mongolians , who have lived in the area for centuries , and the Han people , who arrived in larger numbers after the founding of the People 's Republic of China in 1949 . Han people are the majority ethnic group in China .

According to the human rights organization , 2,000 Mongolian students took to the streets Wednesday in Xilinhot , in a show of solidarity with an ethnic Mongolian herder by the name of `` Mergen , '' who was killed earlier this month when he was hit by a coal truck that was driven by ethnic Hans .

Amnesty reported that the drivers of the coal truck are both in custody of Chinese authorities .

In a clip posted to YouTube that purports to show that same demonstration , a large group of people , many of whom are young people wearing school uniforms , can be seen walking through the streets .

The students were marching toward the building that houses the regional government , shouting , `` defend our land and defend our rights , according to the New York-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center . The group refers to the area as `` southern '' -- not `` inner '' -- Mongolia , and would like to see the region achieve independence or merge with Mongolia .

CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip .

According to Amnesty , the protests , which started May 23 , have been largely peaceful , but at least 18 people were reported injured in confrontations with police northeast of Xilinhot , in Right Ujimchin Banner , or Xi Wu Qi in Mandarin .

`` The protests are a wake-up call for the authorities . As in other minority areas , authorities must start heeding the message rather than attacking the messengers , '' said Catherine Baber , Amnesty 's Asia pacific deputy director .

Protesters say their culture is under threat as pastoral herders are pushed out from the grasslands and forced to move to the cities , or to places where animal grazing is not possible , according to Enghebatu Togochog , Director of the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center .

He traces the motivation for recent demonstrations to the Chinese central government 's efforts , in recent years , to expand coal mining and production in areas that have traditionally been used for grazing .

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The region in northeast has long been the scene of ethnic tension

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The tension is between Mongolians and Han people

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Han people are the majority ethnic group in China